As the locusts chatter and the blue jays scream from the trees that surround the deck, this moment seems to be all that matters. I woke up in ‘my’ 5,000 sq. ft. home in my beautifully decorated bedroom suite on this sunny, Saturday, August day with nothing on my calendar. And by nothing, I mean NOTHING. No lawn to mow, no errands to run, no friends to visit, no events to accept or turn down. I mean…this is a foreign feeling. I still can’t say that I like the feeling, but I’ve decided that I’m going to try to luxuriate in it because this is where I am at the moment.
My weathered housemate, Gremlin (name changed to protect his identity), wanted to snuggle as soon as I woke up. I petted and talked to him for a very long time and he enjoyed the extra attention since I had to jump out of bed this past week to go to work. When I stopped petting for a minute, he gently reminded me of my job by lightly touching my cheek with his paw. He is a real sweetheart.
I next went straight to the window to see if the Morning Dove mama was still sitting on her nest in the evergreen tree right outside my window. She was still there, patiently performing her job as well.
Now with my cup of Keurig-made chai beside me, I plan to sit in this divine, 75-degree weather and read my book on my Kindle for as long as I can make myself stay put and enjoy myself. I know it must sound strange (or maybe not), but being crazy busy is a hard habit to break, a difficult lifestyle to change. Previously, even when I made myself stop and enjoy some quiet time, the ticker tape of tasks was still always running in the background of my inner hard drive. So sitting here without the background noise, without the A-list, the B-list, the C-list of tasks constantly being unconsciously processed is the strange part of this section of my journey.
I’ve decided I want to feel comfortable with this nothingness before I start filling up my social calendar again. I want to read a book for hours and not feel guilty. I want to listen and smell and absorb without mental distraction. I want to leave my yoga pants on wrong-side-out…as I just now noticed they are. I want to go inside and make myself a second cup of chai and settle in for a marathon book-reading session. And those last words all sound pretty wonderful to me.
P.S. I took this picture last evening on my very long walk through some extraordinary neighborhoods.
Jyoti's Great Adventure 